Suitors Are Likely to Make Another Offer After $3.45 Billion Bid Was Refused

LONDON—Songbird Estates PLC, owner of London business district Canary Wharf, rejected a £2.18 billion ($3.45 billion) joint bid from Qatar’s state investment fund, but the move is unlikely to stop the suitors or stem the flow of money from state-backed funds into London real estate.

The advance, rebuffed on Friday, is expected to be a step in a process that could see the Qatari fund scoop up another giant slice of London. The bidders’ familiarity with Canary Wharf, and their confidence in its potential, mean “we think...